Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Coca-Cola 600

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 2019 Top Five Leaders In Loop Data:

Charlotte Motor Speedway (Loop Data Era: 2005-Present)

At Charlotte Motor Speedway:

History

• Construction began on Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS) in 1959.
• The track’s first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race was held on June 19, 1960 – won by Joe Lee Johnson in a Chevrolet.
• The track was repaved midseason in 1994.
• The track name changed from Charlotte Motor Speedway to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 1999. It changed back to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 2010 season.
• The track was re-paved again before the 2006 season.
• In 2018, the Charlotte Motor Speedway introduced the road course configuration (ROVAL) and in the process relinquished the track’s second event on the oval configuration effectively creating a new road course track on the schedule – the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (ROVAL).
• There have been 119 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, two races per year from when the track opened in 1960 until 2017. Starting last season Charlotte Motor Speedway hosted just one race on the oval configuration.  
• In 1961, there were two 100-mile qualifying points races held the week before the May race. The first six fall races at Charlotte were 400-mile events (1960-65).

Starts

• A total of 543 different drivers have competed in at least one Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points-paying race at Charlotte Motor Speedway; 391 have competed in more than one.
• A total of 457 different series drivers have competed in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway; 301 drivers have competed in more than one.  
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Charlotte with 64; he also leads the series in Coca-Cola 600 starts with 31.  
• Kurt Busch leads all active drivers in series starts at Charlotte with 36.
• Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman lead all active drivers in Coca-Cola 600 starts with 17 each.
• A total of 65 different drivers in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series history have made their first series career start at Charlotte Motor Speedway; 25 of 65 made their first start in Coca-Cola 600.
• Three active series drivers have made their first career start at Charlotte Motor Speedway: Jimmie Johnson (10/7/01), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (05/29/11) and Kyle Larson (10/12/13).
• Jack Sprague (two starts) leads the series in average starting position at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a 5.0.
• Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in average starting position at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a 9.0 in 34 starts.

Top Five in Average Starting Position at Charlotte Motor Speedway (All-Time & Active)

• Erik Jones (two starts) leads the series in average starting position at Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600 with a 4.5.

Top Five In Average Starting Position in the Coca-Cola 600 (All-Time & Active)

Poles

• A total of 45 different Monster Energy Series drivers have won the Busch Pole Award at Charlotte Motor Speedway; eight of the 45 are active this weekend.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson leads the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Charlotte Motor Speedway with 14 poles (1961, 1972, 1973, 1974 sweep, 1975 sweep, 1976 sweep, 1977 sweep, 1978 sweep, 1982).
• Ryan Newman leads all active drivers in poles at Charlotte Motor Speedway with nine poles (2001, 2003 sweep, 2004, 2005, 2007 sweep, 2009 and 2010).
• Fireball Roberts won the inaugural Busch Pole Award at Charlotte Motor Speedway (World 600) in 1960 with a speed of 133.904 mph.  

• A total of 14 different drivers have won consecutive Busch poles at Charlotte; Kevin Harvick is the most recent driver to post consecutive poles (2016 Playoffs, 2017 May race).  
• David Pearson holds the record for most consecutive poles at Charlotte with 11-straight from the fall of 1973 through 1978. 
• Youngest Charlotte pole winner: Jeff Gordon (October 10, 1993 – 22 years, 2 months, 6 days).
• Oldest Charlotte pole winner: Bobby Allison (October 11, 1987 – 49 years, 10 months, 8 days).

• Eight drivers have posted their first career Monster Energy Series pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway: Donnie Allison (5/26/1968), Brett Bodine (10/7/1990), Jeff Gordon (10/10/1993), Ward Burton (10/9/1994), Derrike Cope (10/4/1998); Dale Earnhardt Jr. (5/28/2000), Ryan Newman (5/27/2001) and Aric Almirola (5/27/2012).
• A total of 33 different Monster Energy Series drivers have won the pole for the Coca-Cola 600; with 13 of the 33 winning multiple Coca-Cola 600 poles.
• Eight of the 33 Coca-Cola 600 pole winners are active this weekend.
• David Pearson and Ryan Newman are tied for the series most Coca-Cola 600 poles with six each.

Wins

• A total of 51 different Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won at Charlotte Motor Speedway; nine of the 51 are active this weekend.
• Jimmie Johnson leads the series in wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway with eight victories – 2003 summer, 2004 sweep, 2005 sweep, 2009 playoffs, 2014 summer, 2016 playoffs.  
• Youngest Charlotte winner: Jeff Gordon (May 29, 1994 – 22 years, 9 months, 25 days).
• Oldest Charlotte winner: Cale Yarborough (October 6, 1985 – 46 years, 6 months, 9 days).
• 10 drivers have posted their first career Monster Energy Series win at Charlotte: David Pearson (5/28/1961), Buddy Baker (10/15/1967), Charlie Glotzbach (10/20/1968), Jeff Gordon (5/29/1994), Bobby Labonte (5/28/1995), Matt Kenseth (5/28/2000), Jamie McMurray (10/13/2002), Casey Mears (5/27/2007), David Reutimann (5/25/2009), Austin Dillon (5/28/2017).
• Nine drivers have posted consecutive wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway, including three consecutive by NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen (fall 1964 and both 1965) and four-straight by Jimmie Johnson (2004 and 2005 sweeps).
• 17 of the 119 (14.3%) Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Charlotte have been won from the Busch Pole; the most recent was Kyle Busch in the 2018 (Coca-Cola 600).
• The first and second starting positions are the most proficient starting positions in the field, producing more winners (17 each) than any other starting position at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in Coca-Cola 600 field, producing 11 victories – most recent – Kyle Busch in 2018.
• The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Charlotte is 37th, by Jimmie Johnson in the Coca-Cola 600 of 2003.
• Ryan Newman leads the series among active drivers with the most Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Charlotte without visiting Victory Lane at 35.
• Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at Charlotte in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with 19: Jimmie Johnson (eight), Jeff Gordon (five), Darrell Waltrip (two), Ken Schrader (one), Terry Labonte (one), Casey Mears (one) and Kasey Kahne (one). 
• Eight different manufacturers have won in the Monster Energy Series at Charlotte; led by Chevrolet with 45 victories; followed by Ford (30), Dodge (15), Pontiac (8), Mercury (7), Toyota (6), Buick (4) and Plymouth (4).
• A total of 33 different drivers have won the Coca-Cola 600 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series; six of the 33 are active this weekend.  
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip  leads the series in Coca-Cola 600 wins with five victories (1978, 1979, 1985, 1988, 1989).
• Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in Coca-Cola 600 wins with four victories (2003, 2004, 2005, 2014).

Additional Finishing Positions

• A total of 55 different drivers in the Monster Energy Series have finished runner-up at Charlotte Motor Speedway; 25 of 55 have finished runner-up at Charlotte multiple times.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in runner-up finishes at Charlotte with nine second-place finishes.
• Kevin Harvick leads all active drivers in runner-up finishes at Charlotte with four.
• A total of 118 different drivers have finished in the top-five in the Monster Energy Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Bobby Allison are tied for the series most top-five finishes at Charlotte with 23 each.
• Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers with 16 top-five finishes at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• A total of 207 different drivers have finished in the top-10 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Monster Energy Series.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Charlotte with 31.
• Jimmie Johnson leads all active Monster Energy Series drivers in top-10 finishes at Charlotte with 21.   
• Johnny Beauchamp (two starts) leads the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Charlotte with a 7.0.
• Daniel Suarez (three starts) leads all active drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Charlotte with an 10.7.
• Denny Hamlin (13 Coca-Cola 600 starts) leads all active drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600 with an 9.9.

Track / Event Specific Stats

• Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway is the May 29, 2005, race won by Jimmie Johnson over Bobby Labonte with a MOV of 0.027 second.
• Four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races have resulted in NASCAR Overtime at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• Five Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races have been shortened due to weather conditions at Charlotte Motor Speedway; four of the five were the Coca-Cola 600.
• Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway twice – the October race of 2002 and the October race of 2008. 

Laps Led

• A total of 173 different drivers have led at least one lap in the Monster Energy Series at Charlotte.
• NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison leads the series in laps led at Charlotte Motor Speedway with 2,339 laps led in 43 starts. Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the series in laps led at Charlotte with 1,930 laps led 34 starts.
• Martin Truex Jr. holds the record for the most laps led in in a single Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway after he led 394 of the scheduled 400 laps (98%) in the 2016 Coca-Cola 600.  
• NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson leads the series in laps led in the Coca-Cola 600 with 1,251 laps led in 24 starts. Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in laps led in the Coca-Cola 600 with 944 laps led in 15 starts.

Female Competitor Stats

• Two female drivers have competed at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Janet Guthrie and Danica Patrick.

NASCAR in North Carolina

• There have been 817 NASCAR national series races among 32 tracks in the state of North Carolina.

North Carolina Drivers In NASCAR

• A total of 460 different drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as North Carolina. 52 of the 460 have won in a NASCAR national series race.